Soul Symmetry

by J. L. Weil

  Venus was a death reaper, but not a very good one. The soul power I drained from her was minuscule compared to someone like Zander. It still gave me a buzz as white lightning raced over my skin from head to toe.

  When she was completely tapped out, she ripped her hand from my grasp, the silver charm at her wrist tumbling into the sand. Her eyes were bright and filled with angry tears. If I thought Venus hated my guts before, she despised me with a vengeance.

  I tipped my chin, meeting her violent gaze head on. “Leave my island. And don’t ever come back. If I see you, I will take more than your powers. I will make you beg for mercy until your throat is raw.”

  Cold anger crept into her eyes, turning them black. “You bitch.” Her hand rose in the air, prepared to crack me across the cheek.

  I caught her forearm inches from my face and kept my expression blank. “I’ve been called worse. You have twenty-four hours before I come looking for you. Is that clear?” Without any reaper abilities, she was weak, no match for me. Not that she ever was.

  Venus collapsed to the ground. Those emotions of fury shattered into sparkling tears as the reality of her fate seeped in. She was no longer a reaper. She no longer had a home. And she most definitely didn’t have what she came looking for. Zane.

  Dropping my hands to my sides, I exhaled, my fingers tingling with energy. I turned around and stormed off the beach, leaving Venus on her knees, crying in the sand.

  The sand squished between my toes as my legs carried me in purposeful strides toward the boardwalk. The hustle and bustle of the crowd hit me all at once as I trudged it through the boardwalk’s parking lot, water dripping from my clothes and cursing Crash under my breath. The happy-go-lucky vacationers thought I was nutso. Not only did I look like a drowned kitty, hair flat and soppy, I was mumbling to myself.

  “Are you playing parking-lot spy again?” said a familiar husky voice, cutting through my bleak thoughts.

  Crap-a-cola. After my run-in with the jealous mongrel, I thought for sure Crash wouldn’t have the balls to show his face. Obviously, I was wrong. So much for our undercover operation.

  Ignoring the sharp pebbles digging into my feet, I turned around. There he was, shaggy hair the color of straw, blowing with the oceanfront breeze. His Irish green eyes were sparkling with humor. My gut reaction was to throw a bunch of accusations at him for double-crossing me, but something held me back. “I don’t play games,” I replied, not in the best frame of mind. It wasn’t lost on me that he implied I’d done the spy thing before.

  “Why are you soaking wet? If you wanted to take a dip, you should have least lost some of the clothes first. Not that I’m complaining. This look has a certain…” His eyes roamed over my body. “…allure.”

  He would make the situation into something perverted. My clothes were plastered to my skin, revealing every curve. “Don’t be an ass. I’m so not in the mood.”

  “I can see that. Care to share?”

  “With you?” I snorted. “I’ll pass. But more pressing, tell me you have a car?”

  He leaned causally against the pier. Everything about Crash was lazy and carefree. “I might. Are you asking me for a ride, princess?”

  I bit my tongue. I wanted tell him to go screw himself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to go. Home. “Look, you say you want to help me, so this is your chance. I just got into it with that hoodrat, Venus. And right now, all I want to do is go home and get out of these wet clothes.”

  He smirked. “Fine. But with one condition.”

  I frowned. “What’s that?”

  “You tell me what happened between you and Venus.”

  “Like you don’t know?”

  His hand went to his chest. “Ouch, you wound me. What did I supposedly do now?”

  “Shut up. You don’t have emotions,” I said.

  He angled his head. “Tru dat. So do we have a deal?”

  “Just take me home, and then you’re going to tell me why I should believe anything you have to say.”

  The look in Crash’s eyes was bleak. “The manor isn’t safe.”

  I crossed my arms. He was right, too many ears and eyes. “Okay,” I agreed. “We’ll go out.”

  The smile on his lips spread so fast. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  He was the only guy I knew who could go from serious to flirty in a blink. “I’m two seconds away from planting my fist in your gut. Another suggestion like that and I’ll follow it with a kick to the balls.” I flipped my hair in his face.

  Crash’s laugh was husky. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

  I shook my head, searching the lot for a car that had Crash’s name written on it. Just what kind of vehicle would the rule-breaking, mellow, irresponsible hawk drive? My bet was on the flashy red Scion.

  He was suddenly at my other side, holding the door open for me. It wasn’t the little sports car, but a black truck that had seen better days. The rust and dirt collecting on the bottom reminded me of my jeep. “Your chariot awaits,” he said, leaning over the door. “Any chance you brought a towel? The seats are leather.”

  I glared and plopped my soaked butt directly onto his seat.

  “All right then.” He looped around the car and got in. “Buckle up, doll.”

  “Cut the cute nicknames. We’re not a couple.”

  “Not yet,” he said as the engine ripped to life. “But if my father gets his way, we’ll be doing more than handholding and making out in the backseat.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Don’t make me vomit.”

  “So…” he prompted, hanging an arm out the window. “What’s the big to-do with you and Venus? She got her thong in a bunch because you’re encroaching on her territory?”

  “Are you spying on me?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I heard Venus ranting the other day at the club about you moving in on her man. She has a reputation for being delusional and clingy. Not to mention confrontational.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up. It would have been nice to know there was a psychopath plotting my demise. Might have come in handy,” I mumbled.

  Crash drove one handed, a sly smirk on his lips. “God, I can’t believe I missed that. If only I’d been five minutes earlier. There’s nothing better than a chick fight.”

  He was warped. “You should try being on time for once.”

  Blink. Blink. Blink. The turning signal chimed on repeat as he waited for a break in the oncoming traffic. “Story of my life.”

  I fumbled with the rings on my fingers as he drove us to the west side of the island. It was a quiet affair. He stopped outside the gate leading to the manor. I was borderline shivering and never so happy to see the pristine palace. Before he could put the truck in park, my hand was on the door handle. “Hey Crash,” I said as I was about to swing my feet outside. “Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. She won’t be a problem anymore.”

  He cast me a look of intrigue. I hadn’t admitted what I’d done, but Crash understood. His eyes said and comprehended too much. “My lips are sealed,” he assured.

  Call me crazy, but I didn’t believe him. Shaking my head, I made a beeline toward the back of the house. I didn’t get very far before the ranks swarmed me.

  Declan shadowed my steps. “Where have you been?”

  A crow squawked over my head, a message to the others. I was no longer missing. “I went for a swim.”

  “In your clothes?” he asked, calling me out for what it was, a boldface lie.

  I rolled my eyes. “It was a spontaneous decision. Don’t you ever have them?”

  “You know you’re not supposed to go anywhere without an escort.”

  “Sue me. I needed some space.” I stopped and spun around. “And Declan, since you need to know my constant whereabouts, I’m taking a shower. Think a girl can shave her legs in peace?”

  The mere mention of any body part made Declan squirm. I found it hilarious, and used it to my advantage. He stared at me. I started s
hedding clothes, wiggling the button on my jeans. That was Declan’s cue to exit. He grumbled some response about being in the hall if I needed anything.

  As soon as the door clicked closed behind him, I dropped my pants and peeled the shirt off my back. Being wet sucked. My skin looked like a raisin, wrinkly and purple.

  Tearing through my dresser, I grabbed clean clothes. After a quick towel-off and a bathroom visit, I stood in the bedroom with the shower running. There, that should give me a few minutes. I never thought I would have to sneak out of my own house. Tiptoeing across the room, I grabbed my backpack and slipped it on. A jab hit in my stomach— guilt for running out on Declan a second time. It couldn’t be helped. If there was a chance, even the slimmest, that Crash knew something, I needed to hear what it was, because currently, I had nothing.

  Flipping over the side of the balcony, I felt like a thief in the night. I used the impending nightfall to my advantage, as well as borrowing a bit of Zane’s shadows to disguise me from the grounds guards. Zane would feel me link our souls, but I would deal with the backlash later. He wasn’t the only one who acted first and left the consequences for later.

  I climbed down the trellis, careful not to miss a step and plummet two stories in the most epic fail of my life. I breathed a sigh of relief when my feet touched the ground. Boom. Homerun. I disliked breaking promises, but with the world’s future at stake, I didn’t see I had much of a choice.

  Staying flush against the exterior of the manor, I inched my way to the rear of the building. There was a section of rocks, more like small cliffs, that dropped off to the beach. The bluff was about a six-foot jump, but it wasn’t the first time I’d taken the plunge. It fulfilled the hidden daredevil inside me.

  I didn’t wait around. Once my feet hit the sand, I was gone, backtracking to where Crash’s truck was idling. The lights were killed. A part of me expected him to have flown the coop. It was easier to believe the worst in him, than believe he had a heart or a conscious. Yet, for reasons I could not explain, my intuition was to give him a chance.

  I slipped into the passenger seat, and dropped my bag onto the carpeted floor. The radio was on low, and Crash was thumbing the steering wheel in beat with the drum solo to “Cherry Bomb.” His gaze slid to mine. “Are you sure you weren’t a ninja in another life?”

  “I can’t tell if you are being serious or a shithead. I’m going with both.”

  “Since the docks have been compromised, where to?”

  Throwing my hair into a messy bun, I said, “Anywhere that serves hot coffee by the gallons…and no one knows me,” I added.

  He hit the gas. “I like a challenge.”

  Chapter 18

  I gazed out the window, watching the sun sink behind the water’s edge. No matter where you were on the island, the sounds of waves could be heard, along with the cawing of crows, sparrows, and hawks. It was the elusive white raven that was a sight to behold. Rare. Beautiful. And mysterious.

  I didn’t ask Crash where we were going. Instead, I sat back in the seat, took a moment to close my eyes, and let my mind wander. As it normally did when I wasn’t stressing over saving the world, I thought of Zane. The strain of the extra work was starting to wear on everyone.

  “Mind if I smoke?” Crash asked, interrupting my worry-fest.

  I folded my hands in my lap. “Since when do you ask?”

  “Very true.” He pulled a box out of the cup holder and lit up a cigarette.

  “You should quit, you know.”

  “Cancer?” He took a drag and blew out a ring of smoke. “Don’t worry. Reaper benefit.”

  “That’s not what I meant. It’s disgusting. Girls don’t want to suck face with an ashtray.”

  Crash grinned in the rearview mirror as he checked traffic behind us. “Does this mean you’re rethinking my offer?”

  I gave him a funny look.

  “To sleep with me,” he said, filling in the blanks.

  My knee-jerk reaction was to hit him. So I did, on the side of the arm.

  He winced, flicking his half smoked cigarette out the window. “You don’t hit like a girl.”

  “Good. Maybe you’ll remember that the next time you think to open your mouth and say something that has anything to do with sex.”

  He opened his mouth, and then closed it.

  I couldn’t help but smile. In a jerky way, Crash was fun. Zane wouldn’t agree, and remorse wormed its way in me for having a second of small, senseless fun. “Where are we going?” I sighed.

  “Keef’s Reef.”

  “Never heard of it.”

  He grinned. “That’s the point, lu—” His voice cut off, clearly thinking twice about calling me another endearment that would have earned him an added bruise.

  Keef’s Reef was a dive, and that was putting it nicely. I don’t know why I expected anything less from Crash. The two-story building was weathered, and definitely not a place I would have ever ventured to on my own. There were missing pieces of blue cedar shake on the rundown house turned bar. The parking lot was gravel, and there was a sand pit in the back with a volleyball net on the verge of falling over. Motorcycles lined the front of the building, forming an L-shape along the side.

  “You brought me to a bar.”

  “Yep. You won’t find a single reaper here, besides us.”

  “Maybe, but our chances of being mugged or assaulted are probable,” I mumbled. I knew joints like this. The crowd was rough, and it was no place for an eighteen-year-old girl. I was beginning to regret my decision to trust Crash.

  His lips moved into a barely there grin. “You’re a banshee with more strength in your pinky than these guys have in their entire bodies. Don’t ever forget it.”

  His words resonated inside me. As much as I thought I had moved on and accepted who I was, a piece of me was still holding onto my old life. The fears and worries of being human were no longer of my concern. Tell that to my brain.

  I wiped my palms on my jeans, taking an almost steady breath. “This better be worth my while,” I said, staring at Keef’s Reef.

  Dim tracking lighting lined the edge of the ceiling and over the multiple pool tables. Cigar smoke as thick as the early morning fog clouded the low ceiling. The room reeked of dirty men and booze, a combination that made my stomach turn over. Nestled on the outside walls were rows of bar stools, most unoccupied.

  I followed closely behind Crash as he weaved between the pool tables toward the rear corner. If the patrons thought it odd that we by chance stumbled into their establishment, they didn’t show it. My guess was that Crash was a frequent visitor.

  With a tilt of his head, he motioned at an empty table. I boosted myself up into the barstool and crossed my legs. The accommodations might not be a five-star restaurant, but the service was quick. A waitress shimmed over to our table. She had saggy boobs, a shirt too tight and short, and red heels that made my feet hurt by just looking at them. Jackie, her crooked nametag revealed, winked at Crash. He gave her a halfcocked smirk and ordered us each a Long Island Ice Tea.

  “I’ll just have coffee, black, no cream or sugar,” I corrected. I needed a stiff drink, but not one that would make my brain fuzzy.

  Jackie lifted a brow. “How about I bring both. Just in case.”

  As she turned toward the bar, I rolled my eyes.

  Crash tipped his head sideways as if to study me from a different angle. “I pegged you for a party girl.”

  “That was in the past,” I replied firmly. “I’m not that girl anymore. I hope your plan wasn’t to get me drunk.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said around a smile.

  Keeping my expression impassive, I cut to the chase. “What have you learned?” I asked firmly.

  He dropped a bombshell. “I think I know how to reestablish the barrier.”

  I was afraid to hope. This was Crash, after all. We hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms, always yo-yoing between flirting and fighting. “If this is one of your games, I’m no
t interested in playing.”

  Any smirk left on his face slid away. “As hard as it is to believe, I can be serious when it counts.”

  I gave him a droll look.

  He dragged a thoughtful hand across his jawline. “Fine, but unless you have another plan up your sleeve…?”

  He knew I didn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking bad coffee. “I’m listening, but it better be worth my while.”

  “My father was at the club, holding one of his typical long, boring meetings. He was yammering on about the injustice of his position and how he is tired of other reapers regarding him as less than the shit on their shoes, his standard complaints. No one respects him. He isn’t given enough credit. He deserves to be more than a low man on the totem pole. Blah, blah, blah. Normally by this time, I’ve completely checked out of the lecture.”

  “Is there a point to this long, drawn-out story?” I interrupted.

  Jackie had returned with our drinks. Crash downed half the glass before continuing. “I heard him speak about a relic.”

  My ears perked up. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I leaned forward on the table, not touching my so-called tea, but going straight for the good stuff.

  His voice lowered into confidential levels. “He believes the banshees have kept this relic hidden for centuries. Before now, there had never been a need for such power, no reason to seek it out. It has been secret for so long, many don’t give any value to the story, that it even exists, but my father is leaving nothing to chance. If it does exist, it is in the manor.”

  “And he wants you to find it,” I added. I was afraid I knew just how Heath planned to ensure his son access.

  Crash nodded. “If we marry, it would give me the perfect opportunity to search the estate.”

  Son of a gun. I ignored the queasiness tap dancing in my belly at the mention of Crash and I tying the knot. “What does he plan to do with this relic if he finds it?” I didn’t bother mentioning there was no way in seven hells I was marrying him. The council was going to have to kidnap me, drug me, and cuff me to the altar.